Shares in Pangolin Diamonds Corp. (CVE:PAN) rose Wednesday following the announcement that the exploration and development company had discovered volcanic intrusion with "diamond-inclusion type ilmenites" on one of its four exploration properties in diamond-rich Botswana.
The company, which has four exploration properties in the world’s leading country for diamond production by value, made the discovery of manganese rich diamond-inclusion type ilmenites, known to be associated with diamondiferous kimberlites and diamonds, on its 100 per cent owned Mmadinare diamond project.
The five manganese-rich ilmenites returned by independent laboratory analysis conducted by CF Mineral Laboratories Inc. of Kelowna, BC, were recovered from 20 kilograms of material taken from a discovery pit at a two metre depth in the central part of the intrusion.
“These findings change the picture dramatically,” Dr. Daniels told Proactive Investors on Wednesday morning. "And to find five diamond inclusion type manganoan ilmenites in a 20 kg sample is very exciting. It is similar to finding five G10 garnets in a 20 kg sample. That doesn’t happen that often, and I’m really excited about this.”
In fact, so unusual are the Mn-ilmenites, discovered through pitting from surface thus entailing negligible overburden, that Dr. Daniels’ research on the subject led him to similar ilmenites far afield – to those reported by Dr. Felix V. Kaminsky and co-workers from 2001 to 2009 in the Juina area of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Those ilmenites are reportedly derived from the lower mantle of the earth and are important diamond indicator minerals.
“The reason we’re saying we believe it is a kimberlite is that it’s highly weathered, highly altered and we can only confirm the type of rock once we have a fresher sample for petrographical identification. The crucial thing is the Mn-ilmenites come from the lower mantle, so we know it’s an intrusive that comes from the right part of the earth.”
Additionally, enzyme-leach trace element results from the Mn-ilmenites, identified by the independent analysis of material sent to Activation Laboratories Ltd., are consistent with orientation trace element results over known diamondiferous kimberlites in the Jwaneng kimberlite field.
Work at the site continues with a team from Pangolin excavating trenches. “We are digging some trenches to delineate the size,” says Dr. Daniels. “We know it’s over two hectares. We’re also excavating pits in at least three different locations on what we believe is the intrusion to obtain a 100 tonne bulk sample.”
The team will dig at least three exploration pits to a minimum 5 metre depth and process at least 100 tonnes of material. In addition, sampling will be conducted to locate the source of the Mn-ilmenites recovered from stream sediment soil samples.
The company is also set to release an update and overview of two others of its exploration territories, Tsabong and Jwaneng, in the coming weeks.
The focus of the Mmadinare project is to discover near-surface, high grade diamondiferous kimberlites for in-house diamond production.
The project, which covers 1,345.6 square kilometres, has geobotanical features similar to known kimberlites, and similar geological environmental indicators to known mines such as Venetia, the Oaks, Martinsdrift, and River Ranch.
Pangolin is well-funded to continue its exploration programs for the next year.
Shares in Pangolin were up 3 cents on the TSX-Venture Exchange following release of the news, hitting 28 cents as of 10:42 am EST, a spike of 12 per cent.
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